


How Long Does Love Last?

by Audrey18302007



Category: Pandava Series - Roshani Chokshi
Genre: Angst, Divorce, Emotional Hurt, F/M, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, Marriage, Post-Divorce, i literally wrote this just to vent myself, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25616722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Audrey18302007/pseuds/Audrey18302007
Summary: Aru and Aiden always thought that they were meant to be with each other, but the destiny had other plans for them.orTheir marriage is beautiful and, just like a bubble, it pops and when it does, the consequences are devastating.
Relationships: Aiden Acharya/Aru Shah, Brynne Rao/Hira (pandava quintet), Rudy (Pandava Quintet)/Yamini Kapoor-Mercado-Lopez
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	1. Forever and Always

**Author's Note:**

> i was feeling angsty and decided to write an ariden angst to vent, so here it is  
> if there are any gramatical errors, plz forgive me. i'm not an native english speaker
> 
> follow my tumblr for more ariden content!: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/aruandaiden
> 
> Please, enjoy!

Think before acting.

  
That’s what Aru’s mom has told her a million times. Aru would usually listen to her advice and try to apply it on every part of her life (especially in quests).

  
But, in the moment, in which Aiden gets in one knee and the so waited words softly leave his mouth.

  
“Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and partner?”

  
Aru’s mind is immediately filled with happiness and dreams which would finally become true, the advice of her mom is forgotten.

  
“Yes.” Aru says without hesitation, her voice filled with excitement.

  
Aiden smiles, as he introduces the golden ring in Aru’s finger and their lips meet in a lovingly kiss.

\-----------------------------

Aru smiles fondly at the memory of the proposal, finding herself slow-dancing to an old song at the First Dance in their wedding, Aiden’s hand softly holding Aru’s waist, as his chin finds a home at the top of Aru’s head, his steps far more experienced than Aru’s.

  
Aru can listen to his heart beating, the sound already comforting and the familiar rise and fall of his chest.

  
They could stay like this forever, but sadly the destiny had different plans for them.

  
Oh, the young love. It makes us do dumb things as it blinds our minds with sweet nothings and romantic songs, leaving us without san judgement and without thinking how our actions have repercussions.

  
And, now, Aru and Aiden will suffer its consequences.


	2. ¿Qué vas a hacer ahora?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, enjoy!

The honeymoon went as smooth as Aru and Aiden expected. They live in their own bubble of happiness. It is perfect, way too perfect to be true, like a dream that will soon turn into a nightmare.

The sunlight of the Caribbean washes their backs and they softly kiss and whisper sweet nothings to each other.

The nights are beautiful, the breeze carries the salty, fresh essence of the sea and the moon is high in the sky. In moments like this, the kisses aren’t soft, but frenzied and savage.

They couldn’t be happier.

\-----------------------------------

And the bubble of happiness pops.

They don’t know when things went wrong. Maybe it is at the moment Aru starts to travel more or maybe it is when Aiden loses his job. Or maybe it is the fact that they never had shared a home, because they naively thought that their home was with each other.

They think that it is just a phase, a phase all newly weds went through, that everything was fine.

But, oh, how wrong are they.

\-------------------------------------

Seven doors have been slammed, three by Aiden and four by Aru. No friends have visited them in the last few months, because every time they have visits, a fight break between them. Three broken plates along with Aru’s mother’s vase, given by her at their wedding and 2 bags are keep at the closet, one for Aru and one for Aiden, filled with their personal belongings, so when an extremely big fight breaks between them, one of them would sleep at their mother’s place.

They sleep next to each other, but looking at different directions. The days were lonely, communicating coldly only in necessary situations, barely speaking to the person that had once been their one and only love.

The nights in which they would cuddle, holding each other close and Aiden would use his apsara powers to lull Aru to sleep are already over, along with the days in which they would slow-dance to old, romantic songs in the kitchen.

Aiden’s singing has not been heard in months, as well as the soft chuckles that left Aru’s mouth every time she would step in Aiden’s feet.

Now, the bed is cold, and even if they are close enough, they feel like they are living alone in an apocalyptic world, wondering when things went downhill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Apocalypse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, enjoy!

“Get the hell out of here!” Aiden can hear Aru scream, as he gets his bag and slams the 5th door of this week. It is surprising that any neighbor has complained.

Aiden wears a stoic expression, in a desperate attempt to hide his mixed emotions. A mix between anger, sadness and confusion.

He walks silently to the nearest park, the same one in which Aiden and Aru had many dates, so full of nostalgic memories.

Aiden sits in an old, kind of rickety bench and sighs heavily, as he covers his face with his hands.

_Why have things to be this way?_ He thinks as he retires his hands from his face and admires the view.

The Cherry Blossoms are as beautiful as always, the pink petals slowly falling into the lake, covering its surface. In the background, kids run around the playground, some are enjoying the cinnamon buns from the cafeteria.

As he sees the kids play, Aiden remembers how much wanted kids of his own. It was a dream that he and Aru used to share, until, well, things went to the ditch. Aiden can still imagine a small kid with Aru’s round, dark eyes but with little blue sparkles, just as his.

Aiden shakes his head, trying to push away his fantasies, because they are just dreams that aren’t possible.

Aiden deeply sighs again, reaching for the phone in his pocket, dialing the number that he knows way too well.

The phone is immediately picked up.

_“Ammamma?”_ Brynne asks through the phone, with evident worry in her voice.

“I’m coming over. Be there in 10.” Aiden says, it is a statement not a question, as he already knows the answer to it.

_“’k, I’ll be waitin, but you ok?”_

“We’ll talk later.” Aiden ends the call.

Aiden heavily gets up of the bench, directing himself to the nearest portal with direction at New York, to Brynne’s and Hira’s place

\--------------------------------------

It takes him a while to get to it, but when he finally does, Aiden walks silently through New York City and takes the subway that goes to Brooklyn.

The subway moves smoothly underground, the station pass and pass. To be honest, Aiden would prefer other method, because looking at all that happy couples, sometimes with kids, is starting to make him sick.

_Why can’t he be happy as they are? Why thing went so wrong? Is it my fault?_

These are constant thoughts that flood his mind, forcing himself to look away when he feels the tears starting to grow in the corner of his eye

_Should I have thinking before proposing to her?_

This is the main question on his mind, as his feet follow the path that he knows by heart, the stairs are way too familiar for him, especially in the last months.

And there it is, the door to Brynne’s and Hira’s apartment.

Aiden’s fingers tremble as they reach for the doorbell and the tears are almost escaping from his eyes.

He doesn’t even need to ring the bell, Hira is already opening the door, her concerned light hazel eyes look directly into his and pulls him into a warm hug.

Aiden hugs her back, letting the tears flow freely and lets out some sobs. His knees are trembling and the only thing that prevents him from falling to the ground is the strong way Hira is holding him close.

Aiden hears some hurried footsteps, and the next thing he sees is Brynne with a soft blanket on her arms. She adds herself to the hug, giving him the warm that he didn’t knew that needed so bad.

After some minutes of standing in the doorway, holding him close and Brynne’s hand stroking his hair and Hira consolations, the couple pulls him to the living room’s comfy couch.

The house smells like an Indian restaurant, Brynne was definitively cooking before Aiden came. He wishes some of that familiar food.

Hira stays close to him as Brynne puts a blanket on his shoulders and softly calms him down.

Brynne hugs him tight when Hira leaves to the kitchen and immediately returns with a bowl of Khichdi, which he accepts thankfully.

Aiden eats slowly, enjoying himself with the comforting Khichdi, which gives him a sensation of safety.

Brynne puts on his favorite documentary and the three of them cuddle, Hira is singing soft lullabies and Brynne cleans the tears from his face until Aiden falls asleep.

\-----------------------------

Aru takes a sip from the glass of water; her throat is horribly aching and the salty tears fall in the kitchen’s floor.

Aru can feel some little taps on her head. Maybe it is the headache or her soul sisters are trying to contact her. She just hopes it isn’t Brynne ranting at her.

_“Aru?”_ Sheela says at the same time, her voice echoing on her head.

Aru doesn’t reply and remains silent until a memory hits her.

_They are young again, sitting at the Night Bazaar and Sheela is talking in a singsong voice._

_“-n her birthday and anniversary. The only sad thing was that she loved one brother more than all the rest.”_

_Sheela’s eyes immediately direct to Aiden’s direction._

_“Even lifetimes later?” Sheela asks to herself._

Aru takes a deep breath, as her heart clenches in her chest and the tears are now constantly falling.

“Sheela,” Aru says slowly and her heart breaks with every word she pronounces “Years ago, yo-you said that Arjuna and-d Draupadi love each other even lives times later. Are you sure that it is true? Why is our marria-age falling?”

The line stays silent, a heavy atmosphere surrounding the area. Aru expectantly waits for the answer, if she has it, maybe she could fix things.

_“I don’t know.”_ That’s Sheela’s answer.

Aru’s heart fully breaks in a million pieces, her head hurts as hell.

And her world is falling apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> If you liked it, please leave a kudo, comments are appreciated!


	4. Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it has been a month that I haven't uploaded this fic, but I got really insecure about my writing so that's why I didn't upload, even if I already had the chapter ready. My friend had to get my self steem high enough so I could publish this chapter.  
> Sorry for making you wait.  
> Enjoy!

When the fights aren’t breaking out, silence fills the room.

It is like the silence after a storm, it isn’t peaceful but expecting, waiting for the next thunder to strike again.

Sometimes, Aru wishes that the fearful, expecting silence eventually turns into a happy laughter and a warm embrace because she despises the absence of it.

The silence fills the room at the moment, as Aru looks how Aiden prepares his bag.

Aru bits her inner cheek and tries to focus in what she’s reading, but the words are blurry. Her gaze returns to Aiden’s direction, and she can’t help but ask herself:

_'Where is he going?'_

Aiden’s gaze meets Aru’s, and quickly flicks away. And, as if he has read her mind, Aiden answers her question.

“I’m going to Mini’s and Rudy’s. They invited me over to see the kids before going home with mom.” Aiden says quietly, as he folds a shirt.

“Oh, how long are you going to stay there?” Aru asks, weirded out that Malini, her mother-in-law, hasn’t invited her too.

Aiden stays silent for a while, like he was trying to find the words to answer her question.

“I’m moving, Shah,” Aiden pauses, like if the words have stuck in his throat, “To my real home, I am going to my real home.”

Aru doesn’t reply immediately; she’s processing what her husband just said.

'Home? Isn’t home here?' Aru thinks anxiously, trying to find a loophole that contradicts what she just heard.

“Do you want me to go home with you?” Aru asks, with a little smile in her lips, hoping that the little smile will convince Aiden not to leave her behind.

The seconds pass without an answer, which seem to be hours for Aru.

“No,” Aiden murmurs, like if he was whispering a secret, “I don’t need you anymore.”

Aru tries her best to keep smiling, even if she feels how her soul Is been destroyed and obliges herself to keep eye contact as she replies.

“’kay.”

Aru shallows her tears, as this weird feeling she has felt for months drowns her and make her hands shake so much.

This is the first time in months Aru realizes how much she loves Aiden and the fact that he is abandoning her is making her heart shatter.

Finally, the dam breaks and the tears flow freely. Aru’s hands tremble when she throws her book across the room and storms out of the bedroom.

\------------------------------

The door is slammed again, and Aru runs without a certain direction.

Aru didn’t knew she could run this fast until she reaches the park to catch her breathe. She collapses in the nearest bench she could fund and ignores the weird looks the people nearby are giving her, as she hugs her knees so tight to feel something that isn’t numbness.

Suddenly, everything feels so cold, even if it is the middle of the autumn and she is wearing her best jacket.

And Aru breaks down, cold and heart-broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> You can leave a kudo or a comment if you want to, they are appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked the story, please leave a kudo and comments are appreciated!  
> Constructive critism is accepted!  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
